From: Nico Ghilardi < >
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 15:20:30 -0700

I just received this news from my immigration attorney. Seems like those
of us who have to renew visas won't be able to send their passports to
Washington anymore and have to be prepared for long lines at embassies
abroad. W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L, no?

cheers
Nico
---------------

Please be advised that the Department of State has announced that they
are ending the Visa Revalidation Program on July 16, 2004. This means
that, as a non-immigrant in either C, E, H, I, L, O, or P status
currently living in the United States, you will no longer be able to
apply for a new visa stamp without leaving the United States.

The visa stamp is what is actually placed in your passport based on the
visa petition approval notice issued to your employer on your behalf.
The termination of the visa revalidation program does not mean that your
employer cannot file a petition or petition extension on your behalf;
what it does mean is that if you need a new visa in your passport for
international travel, you will need to apply for the new visa at a U.S.
consulate.

Please keep in mind that the valid visa stamp is only required if you
plan to travel outside the United States. As long as you are
maintaining your valid nonimmigrant status in the United States, you
will still be entitled to extend your status through the US Citizenship
and Immigration Services without needing to travel or renew your visa stamp.

If you believe that you are eligible to renew your non-immigrant visa
and wish to do so by mail before the expiration of the Visa Revalidation
Program, the cut off date for receipt of visa revalidation applications
is 5:00 PM on July 16, 2004. This means that any new application must be
received at the St. Louis drop box building by that time and date
(please refer to our website at www.jackson-hertogs.com
<http://www.jackson-hertogs.com/> for additional information regarding
filing requirements). If you wish assistance with this process, please
notify Jackson & Hertogs immediately so that we can help you prepare
this application before the filing deadline. Please note that many
employers do not pay for this service. Therefore, you should check with
your employer before you contact us or you can decide to pay for these
services on your own. If you choose to not retain our services and wish
to file the application on your own, then follow the instructions at
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html and our FAQ memo on visa
revalidation http://www.jackson-hertogs.com/JH/faq/1061.htm. We are
unable to provide advice on cases that we are not preparing and filing.

In order to qualify to renew your non-immigrant visa using the Visa
Revalidation Program, you must be maintaining valid non-immigrant status
in the United States and your current visa must have expired no more
than one year before the application date, or must be expiring with the
next 60 days (i.e. expiring between now and September 15, 2004). Please
refer to our website at www.jackson-hertogs.com
<http://www.jackson-hertogs.com/> for additional information regarding
this application process, as well as eligibility requirements.

We believe that the cessation of the visa revalidation program will lead
to a large increase in the number of individuals applying for visas at
the U.S. Consulates. This increase will most likely translate into even
more delays at the Consulates. Please note that all visa applicants are
subject to security checks which may lead to processing delays of
several weeks to several months or more. Therefore, individuals applying
for visas and their employers must be prepared for potential delays on
returning to the U.S. All travel should be considered in light of the
fact that individuals may not be able to return to the U.S. in the
planned time frame. This will impact employers and families. Please also
remember that when a visa application is delayed due to security
checks/concerns, there is no avenue for relief or to otherwise speed up
the processing of the visa application. Congressional representatives
and agency personnel have repeatedly advised that they are not willing
to make inquiries on these types of cases.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions regarding
this important announcement. Please also refer to our website for
additional news bulletins and information.

Sincerely

Jackson & Hertogs

-- 
Nico Ghilardi, Ph.D.
Molecular Biology Department
Genentech, Inc.
1-DNA Way
South San Francisco, CA 94080-4990
USA
email: ghilardi_at_gene.com
650-225-6907 (phone)
650-225-6412 (fax)
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